Atom transfer radical polymerization to fabricate monodisperse poly[glycidyl methacrylate-co-poly (ethylene glycol) methacrylate] microspheres and its application for protein affinity purification

Poly[glycidyl methacrylate- co -poly (ethylene glycol) methacrylate] microspheres for the first time were successfully synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method at room temperature. The co-polymerization approach was investigated to delicately control the microsphere morphology and size-distribution by reaction conditions including solvent percentage, monomer loading and rotation speed. The results show that the average size of the microspheres is ∼5.7   μm with coexistence of epoxy, hydroxyl and ether groups, which provide plentiful functional sites for protein anchoring. The mechanism of the microsphere formation is proposed. The microsphere successfully demonstrates its unique application for affinity purification of proteins, in which the functional epoxy group facilitates a simple and efficient protein covalent immobilization to purify immunoglobulin G on the microspheres, while the hydrophilic poly (ethylene glycol) motif can repulse nonspecific protein adsorption for good specificity. This microspheres can be used in broad protein biosensors due to their abundant functional groups and high surface to volume ratio.